And the Winners Are . . .

For 21 years, with the help of a group of important and forward-thinking companies, Design News
has been honoring the best and brightest in engineering through our Engineering Achievement Awards. The winners you'll meet on the following pages have shown us the meaning of "excellence." We salute them for their accomplishments and their vision.

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

A new propulsion system concept is an extremely rare occurrence in the field of aeronautics. But Skunk Works Engineer Paul Bevilaqua's dream of a revolutionary, dual-cycle turbofan/turboshaft engine became a reality for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. His design was credited for the huge Lockheed Martin JSF win in 2002—the largest aircraft contract ever awarded.

Award Sponsor: The Timken Company.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

DiGioia, an engineer and a surgeon, invented Hip-Nav, a computer-based planning tool that enables surgeons to more accurately select and position a prosthetic hip prior to performing hip-replacement surgery.

QUALITY AWARD

Harley's engineering expertise and universally acknowledged quality have made it the unrivaled leader in its industry. Brian Ruffert led the team that completely redesigned the Sportster Motorcycle, improving the bike's ergonomics, styling, and engine performance.

Award sponsor: ITT Industries Cannon.

GLOBAL INNOVATION

BRETT BLAISDELL and team, Plastics Engineer, Kodak

Photographic film and the additives used in engineering plastics don't always mix, making it tough to develop materials for single-use cameras. Blaisdell led a team of Kodak engineers that developed a new kind of colorful camera that can sport different looks in different parts of the world.

Award Sponsor: Omron Electronics Inc.

COLLEGE DESIGN ENGINEERING AWARD

BETO PELIKS and team, Students, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Peliks and fellow engineering students at MIT developed a low-cost microfilm projector for use in Third World countries that displays large, clear images that many people can view simultaneously.

Award sponsor: ANSYS Inc.

BEST PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

GORE™ TRACKLESS CABLE ASSEMBLIES

Readers voted Gore™'s Trackless Cable Assemblies, which nearly quadruple the travel range of unsupported hybrid planar cable, as top product of the year. Made for light manufacturing applications, the cable assemblies can eliminate the space, time, and cost required for installation and maintenance. Gore is a maker of high-performance components for the electronics market.

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. quietly announced that it was rolling out a new wrinkle to the powerful safety feature called stability control, adding even more lifesaving potential to a technology that has already been very successful.

It won't be too much longer and hardware design, as we used to know it, will be remembered alongside the slide rule and the Karnaugh map. You will need to move beyond those familiar bits and bytes into the new world of software centric design.

People who want to take advantage of solar energy in their homes no longer need to install a bolt-on solar-panel system atop their houses -- they can integrate solar-energy-harvesting shingles directing into an existing or new roof instead.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.